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Black Gold, Black Cloud

By

Tim Annett

Updated July 27, 2006 4:47 p.m. ET

The geyser of black ink spewing from oil-company income statements showed no sign of abating in the second quarter, as Exxon Mobil reported another profit gusher. But high times for oil giants may signal economic hazard ahead.

Exxon Mobil, the world's largest publicly traded oil company by market value, said its earnings surged 36% during the second quarter to a whopping $10.36 billion. That comes out to $1.72 a share, and is the second largest quarterly profit ever recorded by a publicly traded U.S. company (Exxon was...